UPND defends ZESCO’s Victor Mapani

By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba


UPND defends ZESCO’s Victor Mapani

Country men and women, let’s not allow destructive actions to derail progress in the energy sector as it is the heartbeat of our social and economic progress.
Zambians should always look at the competence of fellow Zambians rather than tribe or personal relations as a determination or qualification to assume certain responsibilities.
Unfortunately, we have as a nation been engrossed ‘in the Bring him Down syndrome’ at the expense of nurturing meritocracy and professionalism. This syndrome has not spared key institutions such as ZESCO limited where individuals have been targeted.
In this vein, Zambians are aware that under the value system of prudent management, Engineer Victor Mapani and his team at the power utility company, the debt stock of US$1.8 billion as at December 2021 has significantly been reduced to about US$580 million todate.
The debt to the biggest Independent Power Producer (IPP) with a coal-fired Thermal Power Plant, Maamba Collieries Limited was a staggering US$600 million as of 2021 but has now been reduced to US$250 million following protracted period of dispute, negotiations and debt settlements.

It’s not a secret that the previous management at ZESCO under the Patriotic Front government neglected to address these thorny issues that had compromised and further threatened the efficient delivery of services to the consumers of electricity.
It is undeniable fact that ZESCO’s financial base was becoming weak each day with heightened abuse of resources by those connected to the reckless and corrupt previous regime.

Those who were indirectly or directly benefiting from deals at ZESCO are now regrouping to eject Engineer Victor Mapani as he appears to be a stumbling block to their ‘eating’ agenda. This ‘eating’ phenomenon left ZESCO bleeding financially while the connected individuals continued milking it for personal benefits.

Countrymen and women, we all know that Engineer Mapani has steered ZESCO towards long term strategic thinking. ZESCO has come up with an ambitious strategic plan of investing US$6.4 billion in project development across all its operation lines, which include generation, transmission, distribution and supply over a period of 8 years.

The expected outcomes of these investments through equity partnerships are unprecedented and shall reposition the power utility company to respond to the growing demand from its commercial and domestic consumers.
All these ambitious projects and programmes require strategic and focused management to implement them. This comes at the back of bringing down debt owed to IPPs from US$1.8 billion in 2021 to about US$580 million, representing a more than 60% reduction of debt to IPPs as of 31st January 2024.

Currently, the company is paying invoices in full to the IPPs while all the outstanding 67,000 applicants have been connected to the national grid in the last two years.

Efficiency levels at the Call Centre with qualified personnel have been phenomena.
The introduction of transparency in contract allocation in the procurement system has eliminated the endemic corruption and enhanced efficiency in the delivery of goods and services by the suppliers.

The company has established a committee comprising representatives from all relevant departments to ensure that no individual has the authority to unilaterally award contracts.

It is essential to highlight that this approach eliminates the possibility of one person influencing contract allocation decisions.
ZESCO, under the guidance of Mapani and the Head of Procurement, Mr. Munsaka has so far demonstrated a strong commitment to professionalism and ethical conduct regarding the procurement of goods and services.

At the height of all these developments and achievable plans to improve the electricity utility company, there is a well-orchestrated sponsored vicious campaign intended to destabilize Zesco operations.

Lately, we have witnessed social media campaign against Engineer Mapani, whilst targeting those perceived to be his relatives working for this public institution. Mapani is a victim of this malicious campaign because he has brought integrity to an institution that was used as a cash-cow for those who are politically connected.

ZESCO is an equal opportunity employer for all citizens of this country as long they meet minimum requirements for specific jobs.
It’s unfortunate that the young lady, Beenzu who shares the same surname as the ZESCO managing director has yielded to the malicious campaign regarding her promotion in legal department and decided to leave her employment even when she possesses the prerequisite qualifications and competences.

ZESCO like many other parastatal companies employs thousands of Zambians across all ethnicities, including close relatives of some opposition leaders’ social media surrogates who have obligated the resignation of young Beenzu.

The policy of the UPND is to give opportunities of employment to citizens without any influence from their ethnicity, religious or political preferences. We know people working for parastatal companies, including ZESCO who got their employment through their political connections in the previous governments but have been allowed to work because they have demonstrated some competences.
The UPND government shall not stigmatise any workers who deserve to work and earn a living because our focus is to deliver this country to prosperity with the participation of its citizens.

The policy direction of ZESCO is driven by our broad spectrum of our manifesto which prioritise delivery of affordable and clean energy through the implementation of an ambitious renewable energy investment plan that will improve the energy mix. This will reduce our vulnerability to climate shocks by leveraging the declining cost of technologies to harness our vast resources, complimented with wind and geothermal.

These strategic interventions require experts who share this vision so that our country once again becomes self-reliant in electricity generation and distribution. The improved power supply levels shall positively impact industries, particularly the Small and Medium Scale enterprises which are the backbone of our industrialization agenda.

The scheme to remove Engineer Mapani who has so far demonstrated high levels of competence and shares the vision of our party manifesto shall only renege on this transformative agenda with regards the energy sector.

President Hakainde Hichilema envisages a power generation and supply efficient country to propel the economy of the country.
If there are any fundamental differences as reported in the media, the ZESCO board and Engineer Mapani should resolve them immediately so that we deliver. The expectations of the people on the generation and supply of reliable and predictable power should be met without any administrative excuses.

People are demanding for results and rightfully so.
As chairperson for Labour and Social Security of the UPND, I have a solemn duty and responsibility to protect the workers who appear to be victims of corporate intimidation and victimization.
I thank you.